The Element — Local services in Oʻahu

Going to start with the positives.

I have lived in this community for 2 years. The pool and gym are pretty tiny. You're better off using the pool for Hoopili which residents are allowed to.

The neighborhood is fantastic. Very walkable and bikeable. Huge sidewalks. Great for walking dogs and bicycle rides. For the most part it's a quiet. If you have someone living above you, you most likely will hear them stumping above you. I had 2 sets of neighbors which both I can hear them above me really well. Whenever they use the dryer/washer/vacuum, walk from one room to another. You hear them all.

The apartment itself is nice. We submitted probably 2 service requests total for the duration of our lease. Since everything is brand new, hardly anything is broken or need fixing. I've seen a couple of spiders here and there, other than that, no bugs. I'm happy with that.

Also, there are no cell towers nearby. The cell receptions are bad in these homes. Most people make their calls outside in the parking lot or in between buildings. I enabled my Wi-Fi calling and I'm able to make/receive calls just fine inside of my unit. If your unit's windows face another building, you'll hear all of your neighbors talking on their patios, if they do. The voices echo between the buildings and make everything sound extra loud.

Then there is security. First, my husband's motorcycle got stolen from the complex shortly after we moved in. Yes, that happened. Overall, it is not a gated community and anyone can come in here and scout it out. Then you're advised to reach out to "security" whenever you experience problems after office hours, which I tried once for excess noise during quiet hours. It's a mainland call center of some sort. It took the operator a good 10 minutes just to local our apartment complex. Then another 10 to take down the info and just said he'll relay the message. I waited for an hour and no one came by so I just gave up. I wouldn't rely these people to "secure" anything. They just drive in circles, park at one spot go on their phones for an hour then onto the next apartment complex they supposedly "securing".

Lastly, the move-out procedure. Definitely the worst part of my stay here. Prior to move-out, my husband stopped by the office to see if he can match the color of paint on the walls so we can seal the nail holes properly. He was not provided with any. He also asked about carpet replacement in the 2nd bedroom and was told that both bedroom's carpets will need to be replaced upon move-out because the original carpet was discontinued. I emailed the office prior to move-out to set up a move-out inspection so we know what to expect. Got no responses.

After the keys are turned in, they charged us for painting and carpet replacement which I don't understand. I thought they'd want us to return the unit back to the original condition. But then you refuse to provide us a paint sample, so we are unable to match it. Now you're charging us because we did not match the paint properly. Then you do not return my message on me wanting to do a move-out walk thru, which is pretty standard for a rental. Instead just put everything on invoices and expect me to not question any of those. I don't know what kind of sense that makes. Also they use Sentry Credit to collect outstanding move out balances if any and good luck getting a hold of them because I haven't been able to. You'd think they want this done efficiently but making the residents go through this hassle just to give them money is not a...

The staff at the Element are profoundly professional and efficient, all while making you feel welcome and appreciated. Moving, even under the best circumstances can be stressful, and navigating along with scheduling, movers, cleaners, mail, parking, utilities, etc., can become overwhelming when schedules are missed, delayed or otherwise obstructed.

Everytime I called and spoke with either Kristen or Malia, they were very understanding and compassionate, which I deeply appreciated. They truly are a great representation of what a 5 star established represents. Everything about them is professional, courteous, efficient, and caring along with that golden 'can do' attitude.

The property is absolutely beautiful, the apartments are just as beautiful, with thoughtful layouts and excellent appliances. When I first drove onto the property, it felt so peaceful and since moving in, the feeling remains the same every time I come home.

The gym, pool and barbecue area feel like you are at a luxury resort. Absolutely gorgeous and very well maintained.

I would highly recommend this property to anyone looking for a beautiful place to call home. It's quiet here, which is a huge plus! Beautiful, like Hawaii is known to be and everyone here on the property that I have had the pleasure of meeting have shown me nothing but the...

Not worth the money to live here. Place is cheaply built and the maintenance people are very open about how poorly constructed the place is. Walls are very thin, the buildings are very susceptible to mold, outlet voltage drops when something is plugged in (no charging dead laptops or anything with a battery larger that a cellphone), AC units are not adequate for the apartments and end up running constantly attempting to cool the place down but there is no insulation so the cool air you do get leaves as soon as it comes (RIP to utility bill). Cheap appliances are utilized in these units so tasks such as using the oven becomes difficult when they cannot get up to temperature/maintain temps. Washer and dryer is known to tear up clothing even on the gentle settings. Water pressure is poor even on the first floor and the water only gets slightly warmer than room temperature.

The common areas/amenities areas are nicely built, but it seems as though these areas received all of the funding in order to create an impression of a well-constructed apartment complex.

This review will likely be taken down as The Element is known to remove bad reviews, but I advise you to join The Element Facebook page in order to get a better idea of the complaints tenants have while...